


Justified

by LtTanyaBoone



Category: NCIS
Genre: Episode Tag, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-09-27
Updated: 2009-09-27
Packaged: 2017-11-15 08:57:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/525525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LtTanyaBoone/pseuds/LtTanyaBoone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"She was wrong. She was so wrong."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Justified

_Disclaimers_ : NCIS, the rights to the show and its characters do not belong to me. No money was made by this. _  
Spoilers:_ Season 6 finale as well as the Season 7 premiere.

* * *

Justified. How he hated the word. He had used it himself. When he had kil- when he had shot Rivkin in self defense. That had been justified all right. But he had known, deep down, that he would have killed him no matter what. He would have beaten him up at least. For a moment, he had been happy that the guy had resisted his arrest. It had given him a reason to use violence. He had been on a mission. Not to protect his country, but to protect what he thought was his. To protect his partner, protect Ziva from the lies and deception of Mossad, and from a broken heart.

He had known that the words had sounded hollow. He had not even believed them himself. But as he looked into her eyes, he realized with great terror that she believed what she said. That being captured and tortured actually was justified, that she deserved this. That she deserved being dragged away and being questioned for what she had let happen to Michael.

She was wrong. She was so wrong. She deserved everything in the world, she deserved expensive dinners, she deserved beautiful dresses, she deserved someone that really loved her for who she was, she deserved gorgeous daughters and handsome sons, she deserved the sun shining on her beautiful face, she deserved to laugh until she cried. But above all, she deserved happiness. She deserved that someone tried to catch the stars for her. She deserved a father that cared for her. She deserved to be with people that loved her. She deserved to live the life she wanted.

She didn't deserve to rot in some terrorist camp in the middle of nowhere. She was better than that, she was a princess and needed to be treated accordingly.

He looked at where she sat next to him. Her head was leaning against the window of the plane, her eyes were half closed as she stared at the clouds. He wanted to reach out and stroke her face, but he caught himself. The last time she had been this distraught and he had done something like this, he had ended up with his arm pinned to the table. And breaking into a fistfight on a plane would have bad consequences for both of them, no matter how many strings Gibbs would try to pull this time. No, touching her was off limits, she had made that very clear when McGee tried to hug her after she had left the emergency room with Gibbs in tow. So he had to settle for something else instead.

"You're wrong." he softly said. She slowly raised her head and looked at him, confusion on her beautiful features.

"It wasn't justified. You deserve so much better, Zi." he told her. And she nodded slowly, with the ghost of a forced smile, before she closed her eyes completely. And in that brief moment, he realized that getting her out of there was not even close to saving her. Because she did not believe him. And it would take a lot of time and effort to get her back to believe that she deserved everything she could ever dream of. To get her back to dreaming about a future.


End file.
